Wesley paced the floor in front of the men. It seemed as though he was speaking to himself, but he spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "Without a full analysis, I can't be sure of what this stuff is…" He held a small amount of the collected goop on his pinky in front of his face. He brought it closer to himself and smelled it, but quickly pulled away. "But I have a pretty good idea. I'd have an even better idea if I could get to my books—"

Shaking his head, Gunn grew impatient. "But what can you tell us?" he inquired.

Clearing his throat, Wesley stopped his pacing on the skirts of the group circle and faced them. "It's a simple theory." He rubbed his fingers together, disposing of the goop. "The Watcher's Council, they cast a rather large spell to leave traces when dark magic is used."

Angel raised his head and glanced over to Wesley. "And this is a trace?"

"As far as I know," Wesley replied.

From his seated position, Xander looked at everyone with exhaustion. He hated that he had to bring up the worst case scenarios. He asked, "Is Willow in danger?"

Wesley brought his attention to Xander with a look of regret on his face. He breathed deeply before answering, "If so, yes. Danger might be in store for the rest of us, and Sunnydale… Maybe even the world."

His eyes grew wide, and then his head fell into his hands. The guys also looked less than pleased. They were put in devastating situations time and time again, but they never seemed to get any easier. It was especially hard to get past when a loved one was on the line.

Once again, Gunn grew tired of their talking. He was angry with all that saddened faces of his friends. He wouldn't just sit there and take it. "Wes, why don't you just get us out of this bubble, and we go and stop her. Fight magic with magic," Gunn stated with ease.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," Wesley muttered. He sighed as he continued, "Willow has tapped into very dark magic. It comes from a dark place that can only be stirred by pure human emotion. It is very powerful and nothing any of us can do can stop that."

Separated once again, Cordelia sat in front of all the books they could find, frustrated. She flipped the pages, skimming them for any information they could find useful as Anya did the same across the room. Cordelia sighed and commented, "These books are getting us nowhere."

Without taking her eyes off of the page, Anya coldly questioned, "Sunnydale books not good enough for the LA girl?"

Shocked, Cordelia squealed, "Excuse me?"

"Nothing." Anya closed the book and made her way over to the next one. She opened the book and started reading again. She quietly added, "You're the one too good for the rest of us."

The words hit Cordy and she was even more confused. She sat up straight and replied, "Ok—What is your deal?"

"My deal…" Anya bit back bitterly. She took her eyes off of the words scrolled across the paper and up to Cordelia. She gave her a dirty glare before blurting out, "I know you came back here for Xander!"

"Xander!" Cordelia called out with a slightly offended tone. She put her hand on her chest and started, "I'd never—"

Anya shook her head. "What? Xander isn't good enough for you?" Trying to calm herself down, Anya crossed her arms over the book in front of her and held her chin upwards. "Or are you just after Buffy's man?"

Cordelia returned her angry glare from earlier and exhaled loudly. "First of all, you're crazy. Second, Xander and I are completely through. And third, third…" Cordelia gazed down at her hand where she was keeping track of her list.

Anya simply stated, "Angel."

Looking up at Anya with a look of disgust, Cordelia shook her head. "Angel and I are just friends. Not to mention, he can't really be 'Buffy's man' since she's gone. And—"

"I meant, 'Hey Angel-standing-right-behind-Coredlia!" Anya interrupted.

Quickly, Cordelia turned her body in her seat and faced Angel who looked less than happy. He looked even more brooding than usual. She felt horrible as she remarked, "Angel, I'm so s—"

"We've got trouble," Angel started to stop Cordelia from giving him yet another apology. "We're stuck in here until sunset. Willow doesn't want anyone loose before she does her spell."

Cordelia pressed her lips together after Angel cut her off. "So once we can leave, what are we gonna do?" she timidly asked.

Without any hesitation, Angel spoke with ease. "We'll meet Willow at Buffy's grave."

Anya shook her head in disagreement with Angel. After getting his attention, she looked him dead in the eye and asked, "So we're going to walk straight into the hands of the crazy Wicca trap?"

"There's nothing else we can do," Angel replied with certainty. He clenched his jaw, thinking about the moment he'd be face to face with Willow, fighting for Buffy's life.

Leaping out of her seat to face Angel, Cordelia squeal, "Yeah there is!" She approached Angel with worry in her eyes. "We can get out of here so she can't get Buffy from you or whatever. It'll ruin her plan if you're not here."

Angel shook his head and tried his hardest to avoid Cordy's eyes. He rubbed his forehead, trying to manage his thoughts. "She'll find a way." Angel put his arms down to his side and regained his composure. "Willow's a determined girl…"

"…And veiny…" Anya added under her breath.

"She'll stop at nothing," Angel continued without any recognition to Anya's comment. "We can't run away."

Anya looked up at Angel without any sarcasm or second-guessing. She kept herself calm, just wanting to know some answers. "So what are we gonna do?"

"Find another way." Looking down at Cordelia, Angel knew she was right. Both of them were right and they couldn't give into Willow. "Keep up the research."